Blog Assignment 5

    When I first began reading the Don't teach your kids this stuff. Please? blog by Mr. McLeod I was in a little bit of shock. But as I read more I felt his sarcasm and really became interested in his final point. Mr. McLeod speaks towards using technology with students and our children as if it were a horrid thing. At the end of the post he suggests that he is already progressing with his students on technology and they are doing just fine.
    Mr. McLeod brings up a very good point. Technology is on the rise and kids are picking it up younger and younger these days, yet not everyone is excited about it. Believe it or not some people, educators, and parents are very against the use of technology in schools or in general. To me that's insane. Yes, I am pro recess and actually living, experiencing life. But I am not against the use of technology to learn and grow intellectually. There is stuff that computers can teach us that a pen and paper can't. There are programs that help kids in ways that teachers or parents can't. Instead of rejecting this growth in our lives, we should be embracing it.

    The two videos by Travis Allen got my brain sparking. At first when I watched the video The iSchool Initiative I was very against it. My natural reaction to a school purely based out of a technology device is negative. Being pro recess, it's hard for me to grasp the positive side of a computer school for our children. Computers help our world and hands down are absolutely needed in our schools, I'm just not so sure it needs to be our school.
    With that said, Mr. Allen's second video, ZeitgeistYoungMind's Entry, changed my views slightly. When I saw the excerpt of a little girl doing flash cards on what looked like an iPad I automatically thought to myself, "she could learn that just as easy with paper flash cards". But then I remembered that one of Travis Allen's main arguments for the iSchool was that it was "green" and that balanced out my negative views with my positive views. After seeing both videos I am still on the fence about a full on computer school, but I'm not so harshly against it anymore.

    The video from Jennifer Chamber's blog post about Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir blew me away. This video was one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time. It shows all the faces of people singing together in beautiful harmony, yet they have never met each other. How crazy is that? Not only is it extremely difficult for a group of people of that size to sound so incredible in person, but imagine how much harder it is to do over the internet.
    I'm not exactly sure how they filmed this but they did a fantastic job. The internet is an amazing tool. This video really makes me think of all the different ways people can relax, have hobbies, or just have fun. For me, I go outside or go to the gym to play basketball, but for others they explore the web and push the limits of technology. Everyone is different, just like each face and voice in that video.

   The video Teaching in the 21st Century was interesting to say the least. My first reaction was that I better change my major quick because I won't be needed in the future. But then while watching all the reasons and solutions fly across the screen I began to realize Mr. Kevin Roberts point. It's not that we will not be needed, it's that our teaching methods need to be up to speed with the needs of our future students. His views on how the education system will change over the course of time could very well be correct, and if that happens where will the teachers of this world stand?
    In some ways this video draws out fear. Obviously the fear of not being needed or extinction is apparent, but also the fear of not being wanted. Part of me is scared that if it comes down to a vote to keep or remove teachers and let technology rule, technology will win. But not because it's necessarily better, but because the people voting will not see the need to be taught. Some people these days go about life as their own savior, and honestly we won't make it through life successful if we rely on our selfishness and comfort. If we ever do get to this point in life my hope is that society's heads will not be sucked into the easier option aka "the autocorrector for life", but they will see the need to be taught and nurtured in more ways than just education.

    The website Reading Rockets has so many useful resources for educators. It contains everything from different teaching strategies to great children's books to resources for school counselors. Reading Rockets can help teachers or faculty members save money on different online deals for books or supplies. They have articles and blogs to help with specific classroom situations. There are certain links to help you as an educator grow in particular aspects, such as reading aloud, to better your students.
    When I eventually become an educator I can definitely see myself using this site and sharing it with other co-workers. It is sort of like the teacher's "pinterest". There are so many great ideas to choose from on so many different levels of teaching and learning. Personally, I plan on taking advantage of the book reviews and reading strategies for my future students. Reading is something that was instilled in me at a young age by my mother who has been a reading teacher for years, and I plan on instilling the importance of reading in my students and children as well.

Project 9a

Project 6

Blog Assignment 4

    While watching the video clip The benefits of podcasting in the classroom I came to agree mostly with three of his points. First, he states that podcasts in the classroom  "promotes creativity and innovation". I couldn't agree more with this statement. When I chose this video to watch as part of the assignment I wasn't really sold on the idea of podcasts being used for educational purposes. But, when he combined education with creativity through podcasts he had me hooked. I am a sucker for progressing the arts and freedom of imagination in students and with podcasts students can master their creative talents right here on the computer.
    Second, he brought up the issue of absences. Which is something I had never thought of but then struck with doubt when the thought did in fact hit me that students would be missing important aspects of learning when they are absent. Yet, once again calmed by the idea of podcasts containing lessons and homework assignments for students who are unable to attend class that day.
    Lastly, the idea of keeping parents clued is amazing. Most parents are so stressed out with there full-time jobs that they become consumed with work and have no clue what is being taught to their children in their schools. With podcasts, parents can review the teachers lessons and stay involved in their child's education.

    I browsed the site 100 Ways to Use Your iPod to Learn and Study Better and was blown away by all the different resources that are now available to people through their iPods. My favorite two resources were "The Education Podcast Network" and the "BiblePlayer for iPod 1.1".  I enjoyed learning about these two particular sites because they are both programs I would use in my every day life. I can picture myself working out at the gym or on a run around the neighborhood while listening to different books of the Bible. Also, I could listen to a tutorial on my history or biology class while I walk to class, and feel more prepared to learn and absorb information on that subject during the school day.

    I very much enjoyed reading the blog Podcasting with First Graders by: Langwitches for a few different reasons. First off, I automatically could relate to the Magic Treehouse books the first graders read as a class. I used to read that series all the time when I was little. Also, I enjoyed the thought of young students excited about reading! Although I must say I was originally concerned that the technology would be over their heads, but then again I thought this class would be over my head as well. My final encouragement from this blog was that when the students heard their finished products, the story going along with music and sound effects, it has potential to set ideas in the students heads about being creative writers or future authors. The idea of podcasts in the classroom of students so young really can improve our education system in the future.

Project 5

Blog Assignment 3

For this blog assignment our first video to watch was "Technology in Special Education". It really opened my eyes to a world that I had been so naive of. All this time I focused on how computers would effect a child, not help a child. If I viewed technology more as a resource than a gadget or toy I think I would get more out of it.
To see all those students in special needs thrive academically because of technology really is such an amazing sight. I had no idea how much help computers could do. It really seemed to create a better, simpler environment for the students and improved their daily lives. This video has shed some light on a subject that I wish I had already known about. I will definitely think of this particular video down the line when I have a class of my own someday, and will highly encourage any technology usage for any special needs kids I have the privilege of teaching in the future.

I chose the app "Math Bingo" to use as an example for using the Ipad apps in the classroom. Math Bingo has a range for all ages. It creates a fun learning environment for the students by challenging them with equations and then finding the answer on their bingo board. So they not only have to solve the problem but they have to find the correct answer on the board. This app would especially be beneficial to special needs students because, like we saw in the first video above, some special needs students are non-verbal. With the app "Math Bingo" they don't have to feel inadequate or deal with the frustration of communicating. They can simply learn at their own pace on their own Ipad tablet.





When viewing this chart, it's incredible to imagine all of those laptops, computer screens, keyboards, and even little keys. It's even crazier to realize that the number literally skyrockets every second of every day. In ten years I hope to be teaching somewhere, but looking at these numbers it makes me wonder what teaching in ten years would look like. Would it look the same as the past one hundred years as illustrated in the "Mr. Winkle Wakes" video? Or will it be full of 50" Ipad smart boards and flying cars?
Okay, so flying cars may be a bit much but you get the point. Technology really is taking the world by storm. Although the education system isn't quite consumed in it yet, we definitely are getting our feet wet. It's kind of a scary thought to think, will our jobs still be there? Will computers and online courses take over our career paths? This chart brings up so many questions about the future of our school systems.

The last video for this assignment was "A Vision of Students Today" by Michael Wesch. Once again, my eyes have been opened. The most intriguing part of this short film was that they were real college students, sitting in a real classroom, and dealing with real problems that we all face around the world. A lot of truth was told in this video. The stresses of getting into college, surviving college, and having mounds of debt after college keep increasing day by day. Not only do we have to work our butts off to pay for school and maintain good grades, now we have to worry about even being able to get an interview for a job that your degree is in.
As a future teacher I see these students and the expressions (or lack there of) on their faces and it really makes me feel for them. Regardless of how intelligent you are or how much of a social butterfly you can be college is still hard for every student on some level. I think it's our jobs as teachers to be understanding of this and view our students as people and not numbers or another grade in the grade book. The last thing anyone needs, college student or not, is to feel invisible or misunderstood. So as educators we should challenge our students to be the best that we know they can be, yet with a kind heart and understanding attitude.

Project #3

This project was to read and comment on the teacher's blog that we were assigned. I got very lucky and was assigned a very sweet man who writes a very honest blog. The first post of his that I read and commented on was about his mother's teaching days. Just like Jo, my mom is also a teacher so it was really cool relating on the subject and comparing his views towards his mother's accomplishments with my views towards my mom's accomplishments. The second post I read and commented on was a Christmas post. Jo painted a picture of how he and his family spend the holidays every year. He reminisced about lessons his mother had taught him throughout the years. It was so cool to get to read about the nice things he had to say after his mother's passing.

Blog Assignment 2

Hello again!

I have watched the video "Did You Know? 3.0 - A John Strange 2012 Version" by Mr. Strange and was pretty shocked at some of the facts he shared. Some of the ones that stood out the most were about India and the English speaking Chinese population. Personally, I am very intrigued by other countries. Some day I hope to live in another country for a while.
The facts about India's intelligence blew me away. Mr. Strange stated that "India has more K-12 honor students than all of the K-12 students in the United States." How crazy is that? Sometimes I feel like as an American I get lazy and get everything handed to me. For example, the people of India are so incredibly smart, and their academic structure and determination shows greatly on any scale.
Mr. Strange also stated that "It is estimated that 18 million Chinese speak English now and 300 million are 'learners'." He then stated that when the "learners" do in fact learn how to speak English then China will have more people who speak English than the United States. This to me is very eye opening. It amazes me how many people in other countries either take time on their own or are taught through their education systems how to speak our language, yet we hardly dedicate ourselves to learning one of the languages of the many countries that help keep America where we are today.

I also watched the "Mr. Winkle Wakes" video. It's a short fictional story about a man named Mr. Winkle who awakes after 100 years and is dumbfounded by all the technology used in the modern world. Yet, he is comforted when he visits a school and sees that nothing has changed.
This video really made me evaluate my daily school life and what kind of classroom I would like to have when teaching in the future. Classes these days really don't involve technology except for research or typing up papers, unless it's a class designated for computer learning like EDM 310. I would like to see that change during my generation.

The video of Ken Robinson speaking about education and creativity is by far my favorite in this assignment. Not only is he hilarious and quirky, he's right. The way the education world is structured is hazardous to our character. It stuffs our minds full of "knowledge" but it leaves our souls dry.
I understand that there are certain things we do need to know to make it in the real world on our own. What I don't understand is why those things have to continue to control what we do or how we do them. For example, the story of the famous ballerina, if she would've never been given the opportunity to attend a dance school she would've of greatly suffered. She would have suffered in school as well as her happiness and quality of life. Can you imagine never feeling like you fit anywhere or are not good at anything? These thoughts haunts some of the most talented people this world will never know.

Watching the video "A Vision for 21st Century Learning" made me question how I wanted to change my small piece of the education system. I think technology could be really useful in the learning process for children, but I am not sold on the idea of all of their education coming from a computer game.
The biggest reason I am hesitant towards this modern idea is because some of my greatest lessons in life didn't involve technology. They were taught by experiencing things and daily situations that happen in the classroom. I think the use of technology in schools is a huge must, but I think recess and crafts are just as important.

I really enjoyed watching "Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts" because the teacher didn't just teach her students about computers and software programs, just gave them freedom to be creative through their technology resources. At most schools these days every other website is blocked or forbidden, granted some inappropriate sites do indeed need to be blocked from students. But other sites that have education potential get blocked in the process.
It's hard for students to show their creative sides via technology in schools when they can't use the internet or certain programs to it's full potential. It limits their learning process to what's written in the syllabus, and if we all only learned the material given on our syllabi then we would all be fact driven robots.


This blog assignment really expanded my view on education theories and ways we can improve in the future.